1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to an orthopedic measuring device for the leg and it particularly relates to a device for measuring crucial dimensions and contours of the leg for the fitting of an orthopedic device such as a knee brace, leg brace and alike.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Many people wear leg braces, especially knee braces, to strengthen and/or stabilize the leg due to injuries to the leg, caused by athletic endeavors, surgical procedures, accidents, birth defects, disease and alike. Because of the nature of the injury, the wearer frequently must have a custom fit leg brace or knee brace to obtain the desired degree of strengthening and/or stabilization. At the present time, almost all the custom made leg braces and knee braces are fitted by taking measurements from, or fitting to, a plaster mold of the leg or knee. This is not always a successful method of fabricating or fitting a brace because the plaster mold can be accidentally crushed, or the mold can be inaccurate because of swelling to the leg, resulting from the injury, at the time the mold is made, or because there are no guidelines or reference points to indicate exactly what portion of the leg is represented by the plaster of Paris mold. Thus, unless the mold has been properly marked, which in most cases it is not, it can be extremely difficult to determine where the axis of rotation of the knee is from the mold. Frequently a custom brace made from such a plaster of Paris mold does not properly fit the intended wearer because the mold does not correctly represent the leg or the position of the mold with respect to the leg is not known. In those circumstances, a new mold of the leg has to be made and a new brace fabricated.
An object of the present invention is to provide an orthopedic device for taking measurements of the leg, including the knee, for the fabrication and/or fitting of braces for the leg, including the knee. Such a device could be utilized to make the necessary measurements for a fabrication and/or fitting of the knee and leg braces disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,271,831; 4,481,941; 4,493,316; 4,531,515; 4,643,176 and 4,697,583.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a leg measuring device that can measure critical dimensions of the leg and critical shapes or contours of the leg needed for the fabrication and/or fitting of a leg brace. The terms "fitting" or "to fit" herein will be used to denote the fabrication and/or fitting of a leg brace.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a device that will yield standard measurements values which can be utilized to fit a custom made leg brace for the measured leg without the need of making a mold of the shape of the leg.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a device that can measure the width of the knee about the condyles, the circumference of the lower leg about the calf region, the offset of the leg, the circumference of the upper leg about the mid thigh area, the contour of the anterior and/or posterior portion of the lower leg, the contour of the anterior and/or posterior portion of the upper leg, and/or, the angle between the axis of rotation, flexion and extension, of the leg and a reference line contacting the lateral side of the lower leg about the calf region and the lateral side of the upper leg in the region of the mid thigh. The offset of the leg is a measure of the spacial relationship of the condyles of the knee to the contact points of the leg measuring device on the upper and lower leg.